Ethics committee close to finishing law

(CNS): The Committee for Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is very close to finalising the law it requires in order to carry out its constitutional mandate. In the committee’s first report after it was established in accordance with the country’s 2009 constitution, the members noted that without a specific law in place it would be difficult for the CSPL to enforce those standards. Since then the CSPL has been working on the necessary legislation, which it says will enable it to fulfil its constitutional mandate when it comes to upholding ethical standards of politicians and public servants. The chair has also confirmed that the committee’s second report has been completed and will be given to the Legislative Assembly for tabling in the next session.

Despite not having its law in place yet, the chair, Karin Thompson, said the committee has still been meeting regularly and has also launched its website. The minutes of the five meetings the CSPL has held since last August, when it published its first report, are now on the site as well as other documentation relating to the committee.

As the committee develops its role it is expected to examine not just the potential conflicts of interest for political representatives but also civil servants. It will be looking at government contracts and tenders, and in the December meeting the committee raised the question of the composition of the Central Tenders Committee, suggesting that members should possess relevant professional qualifications.

The issue of government procurement in all countries is always an area of potential concern for ethics and anti-corruption committees. Given the questions that have been raised about Cayman’s tendering process and the circumvention of its recommendations by government in recent bids, the public will be turning to the CSPL to answer some of those questions.

The CSPL is separate and apart from the Anti-Corruption Commission, which was established well over one year ago under the chairmanship of the police commissioner. This commission, in contrast to the CSPL, appears not to have a website, has produced no report and is understood to have met on only three occasions last year. The commission was reportedly expected to engage in a training programme (more than one year after its formation) in either January or February of this year with the Attorney General’s Office to look at the legislation and the powers afforded the commission. It is also expected that at some point a public education campaign will be launched to explain what that commission will do.

It is not yet clear what spheres of local public life the Anti-Corruption Commission will examine but it is designed to assist in overseas cases of corruption when Cayman entities may be involved. Although it differs from the CSPL, there is likely to be some overlap in the local domain but again it is not yet clear how the public can report concerns to members about corruption and how those complaints will be handled.

Given that it is expected to examine corruption in law enforcement as well as the wider community, there is a clear conflict of interest created by the chair, which does not appear to have been addressed.

The commission was created in accordance with Cayman’s Anti-Corruption Law, which was passed in 2008 but came into effect in January 2010. It is not a constitutional commission but a law to bring Cayman in line with international standards and obligations.

In a release at the time the members were appointed, government officials said the body would be responsible for administering the law. It is supposed to consider and investigate any report of corruption, including any attempted offences or conspiracies to commit corruption.

It has the power via the Grand Court to order a freeze on a person’s bank account or property for up to 21 days if there is reasonable cause to believe that the person is involved in corruption.

Commission members can also request banks and other entities to release information needed in corruption investigations. It is not yet known if the commission has opened any investigations or received any allegations of corruption either locally or from overseas.

Aside from the police commissioner, members include the complaints commissioner; the auditor general; Sir Peter Allen, a former Chief Justice of Uganda; and former banker Leonard Ebanks.